I WON’T get rid of my golliwogs: Pub owners vow to put dolls back behind the bar after they were seized by cops – despite complaints over five years from customers branding the ‘racist’ decorations a hate crime
- Benice Ryley, 61, and her husband Chris, 65, had five officers enter their pub
A husband and wife team have vowed to put their collection of golliwog dolls back on display after they were seized by police in the latest salvo of a five-year battle with critics branding the soft toys a hate crime.
Benice Ryley, 61, and her husband Chris, 65, had five officers enter their pub on Tuesday and take away the 15 dolls after an anonymous complaint was made against them.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman is said to have been furious about the approach, and has told Essex Police that bosses should be focusing on catching real criminals rather than seizing toys.
Mrs Ryley, who has run the White Hart Inn in Grays, Essex with her husband for 17 years, said some of the dolls are very valuable, with one worth up to £1,000.
‘The police still have the dolls and I have no updates at all,’ she said. ‘The whole thing is totally mad. Since the gollies were taken and the story was in the newspapers, we have had so many people get in touch with myself and my husband to say we shouldn’t give up and should keep them on our shelf.
Chris Ryley (left) runs the White Hart in Grays, Essex, along with his wife, Benice (right)
Benice Ryley, 61, was quizzed by six officers after police received an anonymous complaint about the golliwog display at The White Hart Inn in Grays, Essex
‘Over the last two days my customers keep singing ”save the gollies” and they want us to get them back.
‘So we are having a sign prepared that will say ”gollies are on display, so don’t come in if that offends you” and once that’s ready we’ll restore some more of the dolls to the shelf.’
Mrs Ryley said she has been told the couple are unlikely to get them back until after her husband Chris returns from Turkey in May and is questioned too.
The raid comes after the couple refused to remove the black-faced dolls after the local authority received a complaint in 2018.
Thurrock Council launched an investigation after a whistleblower claimed the golliwogs were offensive and represent a racially aggravated crime.
But Mr Ryley said the dolls were ‘here to stay’ and his no nonsense approach paid off after the council confirmed no further action will be taken.
The couple have built a collection of the black-faced toys and other memorabilia donated by customers over the years.
One officer puts the golliwog dolls into a clear evidence bag
CCTV shows six officers walking into the pub before seizing the dolls
Mrs Ryley said: ‘They are sentimentally very valuable.
‘The last thing this pub is is racist, we hold Indian weddings here all the time and of course everyone is welcome. I told the officers it was all ridiculous to send so many of them for such a small thing – as they were bagging the gollies up I said “don’t worry, they won’t resist arrest”.’
History of the golliwog doll: How the outdated children’s toy became a symbol of bitter controversy
The issue of whether the dolls are racist or not often sparks fierce debate.
The golliwog was created by Florence Kate Upton in 1895 in her book ‘The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwog’, where it was described as ‘a horrid sight, the blackest gnome’.
After the author created the golliwog, it became a favourite for collectors and was popular in the UK as the mascot of Robertson’s jam.
But by the 1980s, it was increasingly seen as an offensive racist caricature of black people.
Some people hark back to fond childhood memories of the dolls, whereas others argue golliwogs are a racist icon of a bygone age.
Marmalade firm Robertson’s removed its iconic golliwog logo from its preserve jars in 2002 following complaints from campaigners.
In a YouGov poll last year 53 per cent of respondents said they thought selling or displaying golliwogs was ‘acceptable’ compared to 27 per cent who did not.
Asked if it was racist to sell or display a golliwog doll, 63 per cent of respondents said it was not, while 17 per cent did.
A Home Office source said: ‘The Home Secretary’s views have now been made very plain to Essex Police so they’re under no illusions.
‘Police forces should not be getting involved in this kind of nonsense. It’s about tackling anti-social behaviour, stopping violence against women and girls, attending burglaries and catching criminals – not seizing dolls.’
The College of Policing issued updated guidance last month stating that non-crime hate incidents should not be recorded where there is no basis to conclude that an incident was motivated by hostility.
The guidance also states: ‘Wherever possible, freedom of speech should be prioritised.’
The source added: ‘The announcement of new non-crime hate incident guidance last month, due to be in force by summer, should see an end to this [sort of incident] once and for all.’
The now controversial golliwog figure was created by American-British cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton and began appearing in children’s books in the 19th century.
The physical dolls became popular in Britain in the 1970s but came to be considered a racist caricature of black people.
The first known example of the dolls being seized by British police was in 2007, when Greater Manchester Police confiscated two from a furniture shop near Wigan, Greater Manchester.
CCTV footage of last week’s incident shows the officers march into the pub and stuff the dolls into an evidence bag.
Essex Police said: ‘We are investigating an allegation of hate crime reported to us on 24 February. On Tuesday, 4 April, officers seized several items in connection with that investigation.
‘The investigation is ongoing so we will not be commenting further at this stage.
‘The force is proud of the work we do to prevent crime, tackle offenders and build trust and confidence in all communities.’
She and husband Chris, 64, who is currently abroad, had displayed their collection of 15 dolls after receiving them as gifts from customers over the years
The couple have run the White Hart Inn for the past 17 years after taking over when the boozer had become run down
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